The United Kingdom has opened applications for the 2026/27 Commonwealth Fellowship Programme, offering fully funded opportunities to mid-career professionals and university academics from eligible Commonwealth countries, including Nigeria.
The UK in Nigeria announced the opening in a post on its X handle on Thursday, urging qualified candidates to submit their applications before the August 25, 2026 deadline.
“Applications are currently open for the #CommonwealthFellowships 2026/27! Professional Fellowships for mid-career professionals and Academic Fellowships for PhD-holding university staff,” it said.
According to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC), the programme has two categories:
About 40 fellowships are provisionally planned for the 2026/27 programme. Of these, approximately 10 are expected to be available to citizens of Commonwealth countries not eligible for official development assistance, while about 30 will be for citizens of countries eligible for such assistance.
The fellowships focus on six development themes:
For Professional Fellowships, applicants must:
For Academic Fellowships, applicants must:
Nigeria is among the countries eligible for the programme.
The two fellowship categories have different durations:
Interested candidates are required to complete the online Commonwealth Fellowship application form through the CSC application portal.
Applications opened at 9am BST on July 28, 2026, and will close at 4pm BST on August 25, 2026.
Applicants will be required to submit:
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission said the fellowship package includes:
The programme is designed to enable professionals and academics to gain specialised skills and experience in the UK and apply the knowledge gained to development challenges in their home countries.
